Sam Smith Memorial Park is located in Winter Springs, Florida. A memorial in the park reads "With grateful appreciation for many years of dedicated service to the City of Winter Springs, this park commemorates Sam Smith July 2 1918-February 3, 1988."
A focal point of the 14 acre Sam Smith Park is the playground designed by Landscape Structures and installed in 2017. The playground includes an Eclipse Net Plus which is a climbing net and a fun Rush Slide. Little ones will enjoy the Weevos playsystem for safe climbing, sliding, and bouncing. The SkyWays shade keeps kids cool and protects them from the sun.
Other park amenities include a restroom, boardwalk, and Sam's Deck donated by the Tuskawilla Pioneer Gardening Club. There are covered picnic pavilions, tables, and grills for a family fathering or a cookout. There is also a 0.7-mile loop trail that goes to the back of the park and around the lake.
The coolest thing about this park for me was that I saw so many red-shouldered hawks. They were everywhere, in the trees and on the ground. In Florida, the red-shouldered hawk is perhaps the most commonly seen and heard raptor species outside of black and turkey vultures. They prey on small rodents and one of them had a squirrel. His mate was screaming at him from the tree to bring it for dinner now! Seeing all of those amazing hawks is a memory I will not soon forget. read more